Guest Post: Amie from Kitty Cats and Airplanes

Hello Better Life Blog readers! I am so happy that Rebecca let me invade her blog today so she can spend time with her new little one. Isn't she fabulous? Her blog and her Etsy shop are so inspiring!

You probably don't know me, so let me introduce myself. I'm Amie, and I run a little blog called Kitty Cats and Airplanes. I'm a full time personal elementary school tutor and I love my job! I also love anything crafty, which is why I started my craft blog back in September. It's a place where I like to share my crafty endeavors, recipes, and other projects that inspire me. I have serious crafting ADD, so you're sure to always find something new and exciting! (My current kick is jewelry, but I also love to sew!)

This is me and my hubby, he's such a dream boat! He's great, he puts up with all of my crafting obsessions and even dabbles in some crafts himself! Some of my favorite projects include:

 Rosette headbands (a hubby craft!)

 Appa hat 

 And this button bracelet. 

I have a ton of tutorials so be sure to take a minute to check out all of them! I also have a newly opened Etsy shop where I sell my jewelry!

Since Rebecca's blog is all about bags, I thought it would be fun to add another bag to her tutorial collection!

I call her the envelope clutch. Why? Well....

Because this bad boy was my inspiration. I was sending a letter and was thinking about the envelope (because, you know, everyone ponders envelopes) and I thought, "This is the perfect size for a clutch!" And with some fabric, a sewing machine, and about an hour my inspiration became a reality!

It's got dreamy red satin, oh-so-sensual black lace, and one blingly vintage button! Wanna make one too?

You will need:

• Large scrap white cotton fabric (at least 10"x13")
• Large scrap black lace
• Large scrap red satin
• Large scrap medium weight, iron-on interfacing
• Envelope
• Large sheet of paper (bigger than a regular 8 1/2" by 11")
• Closure of your choice (button, velcro, elastic, etc.)
• Iron, ironing board
• Sewing machine, matching thread, scissors, etc...

Got everything?

The first thing you need to do is carefully cut down the sides of your envelope and open it up. This is how you will create your pattern. Lay it on your larger sheet of paper. (I used a sheet of freezer paper, but you can use newspaper, tissue paper, butcher paper, whatever you've got!) Keep the envelope, you'll need it again soon.

Press your envelope down and sketch about 1/4" all the way around the envelope. I chose to keep the bottom straight to make the sewing easier. When you're done, cut out your pattern and fold it in half, lining up the edges. Trim anything that doesn't match up so you're pattern is symmetrical.

Using your pattern, cut out a piece of red satin, black lace, and white cotton. It is not necessary to cut out your fabric with a rotary mat/cutter, I just prefer it that way. Then, using the envelope as a pattern, cut out the interfacing (so that the interfacing is slightly smaller than all the other pieces.)

I didn't take a picture of the next part because you would have puked if you would have seen my nasty ironing board. Following the directions on your interfacing, iron it onto the wrong side of your cotton fabric nicely centered.

You'll now have three pieces: red satin, white cotton with interfacing, and black lace. Pin the wrong side black lace onto the right side of the white cotton (so both of the fabric's right sides are facing up.) Sew the entire way around the black lace using a very small seam (1/8").

Now you have two pieces! The red satin and an interfacing, cotton, and lace sandwich. Pin the two pieces together (right sides together, so the shiny side to the lace side) and using 1/4" seam, sew around your pieces. Leave a 3 inch or so hole at the bottom for turning.

When the sewing is done, clip the corners so when you turn it right side out, the corners will lay flat.

Turn it right side out. Push out the corners (I like to use a chopstick) and make sure they are nice and crisp. Press flat and make sure all your seams and corners are pretty.

Using a very small seam again (1/8"), top stitch along the bottom and along the point at the top ONLY!! Don't top stitch along the sides.

Fold up the bottom of your clutch so that it resembles an envelope. Look back at it if you need to! Pin the sides together and top stitch using that 1/8" seam on both sides.

 

Now, I'm hugely a little obsessed with buttons, so I used a fantastic vintage button to close my clutch. You can use whatever you'd like, magnetic closures, snaps, velcro, elastic/button, whatever works for you!

When you're done, plan a special date with your honey because this little clutch needs to get out!!

It's the perfect size to hold just the essentials: cell phone, keys, lipgloss, credit card, and maybe something extra!

Like the clutch but don't have the time to make one for yourself? Well, you're in luck, because I'm giving away an envelope clutch! And the best part is, YOU can help me design it! Your own custom clutch with your favorite colors/designs. How do you enter?

 Mandatory: Follow Better Life Bags Blog and leave a comment with your email address (so you can be contacted if you win!)

Want extra entries? You can...

• Follow my blog, Kitty Cats and Airplanes.
• Like Better Life Bags on Facebook (check Rebecca's sidebar)
• Like Kitty Cats and Airplanes and Facebook. 
• Visit my shop and tell me what your favorite item is! 

Just leave a comment for each extra entry you do!
Giveaway ends Sunday night at midnight PST.
Winner will be announced Monday morning.

FIVE ways to win! Aren't you excited?? Thanks for letting me be here today, Rebecca. I hope you enjoyed my tutorial, and I'd love to see you over at Kitty Cats and Airplanes sometime! :)